I am confused between the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios Sportz AMT, Maruti Suzuki Swift AMT, and Tata Tiago Pure+ AMT. My usage will be low to moderate, including city driving as well as occasional highway drives, and I am a first-time car buyer and driver. Based on my driving requirements, should I consider a CNG variant or stick to my original plan of buying a petrol car? Please help me choose the best car in this price range and also suggest any other suitable alternatives available.

autocar.india

•1d

For your usage pattern, the Maruti Baleno or Toyota Glanza would be the most sensible choices. Both cars are essentially the same underneath, so the decision comes down to dealership experience and after-sales support in your area. The Baleno/Glanza offer a more spacious cabin than the Maruti Suzuki Swift, making them better suited to long-distance highway runs, and now get the same 3-cylinder engine too - the Toyota Glanza facelift is soon to launch. The suspension is well-tuned for Indian roads, and the seats are comfortable enough for extended journeys, which will help reduce fatigue on your 500-600 km trips.The Hyundai i20 is also a strong contender, with a more premium interior and a slightly more planted feel at higher speeds. However, the Baleno/Glanza has a more spacious rear seat and better fuel efficiency, which makes it a more practical choice for your requirements. In terms of safety, all three cars offer similar levels of equipment, but this Hyundai Car feels slightly more solidly built.If you are open to considering other options, the Tata Altroz is worth a look. It has a 5-star Global NCAP safety rating, a solid build, and good highway stability. And if you stretch your budget slightly, you can get the diesel engine, which will be hugely beneficial on the highway in terms of performance and mileage, and is also better than the Altroz's own petrol engine.It's worth noting that all the hatchbacks you've shortlisted use naturally aspirated 1.2-litre petrol engines, which, though adequate, might feel lacking out on the highway, where you will do most of your driving. Thus, we would also recommend checking out some turbo-petrol options that fall in your price range, such as the Nissan Magnite, Renault Kiger, Renault Triber, Hyundai i20 N-Line and Tata Punch, which all meet your needs well.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno

Toyota Glanza

Maruti Suzuki Swift

Hyundai i20

Tata Altroz

Nissan Magnite

Renault Kiger

Renault Triber

Tata Punch

autocar.india

•1d

Go for the Skoda Kylaq Classic Plus AT. Since she prefers an upright seating position and an SUV stance, the Kylaq is the better fit. The higher seating position gives a better view of the road, which is reassuring for a first-time driver, and the SUV-like stance makes it easier to judge the car’s corners in traffic. The 6-speed torque converter automatic is smooth and predictable, making city driving stress-free, but there is turbo lag which needs getting used to. Aside from that, the Kyalq is a good choice, compact enough to be easy to park and manoeuvre, while still feeling more substantial and confidence-inspiring than a hatchback.The Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXI+ AMT is a great city car and very easy to drive, but the AGS (AMT) gearbox is not as smooth as the Kylaq’s torque converter automatic, especially in stop-start traffic. Since you already own an Hyundai i20, the Swift would feel like a similar experience, whereas the Kylaq offers a genuinely different and more confidence-inspiring driving position. The Kylaq is the better long-term choice for her needs.

Skoda Kylaq

Maruti Suzuki Swift

Hyundai i20

autocar.india

•1d

All new cars are engineered to handle E20 fuel, so there is no need to worry there, and you can go ahead with buying a new petrol car. The impact is limited to a slight drop in fuel efficiency compared to E10 petrol, but that will be the case with any car. Component wear and tear, meanwhile, is not a concern as it could be with pre-2023 vehicles that are not engineered to take E20 petrol. For your wife's daily commute in Kochi, with good visibility, ease of handling and mileage as priorities, the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios is the best fit. It is compact, easy to drive in the city thanks to its light controls, offers excellent visibility and has a smooth fuel-efficient petrol engine. It is also reliable and inexpensive to maintain, which makes it a stress-free ownership proposition.If you want a higher seating position and SUV-like visibility, the Hyundai Exter is a good alternative. It offers a slightly higher driving position and better road visibility while still being easy to drive and fuel-efficient, albeit not as good value for money as the Grand i10 Nios. The Maruti Suzuki Swift is another option that's even more fuel efficient, but visibility is not as good as in the Hyundai's.While an EV makes sense for the city component of your wife's usage, you must make sure home charging is possible at your residence first. However, the bigger issue is that at your budget of Rs. 10 lakh, none of the available EVs can comfortably do a long highway trip without some amount of range anxiety or reliance on the public charging network. If you're willing to take that risk, then EVs like the Tata Tiago EV are a good bet, but if not, then the Hyundai Nios or Exter are better bets for your wife.

Hyundai Exter

Maruti Suzuki Swift

Tata Tiago EV

Hyundai Grand i10 Nios